A year ago today, my father died. He didn’t in my words “pass away”, that’s what you do if you die in your sleep or your slip away in a hospital/palliative care etc setting after typically a long battle in which you may be quite medicated.
My father didn’t do that. In the morning he was alive, he called the ambulance because he wasn’t feeling good, he walked to the ambulance and then maybe an hour later he was dead.
This is what I wrote a year ago minus 12 days – 12 days ago.
It’s been a period of adjustment at varying levels for all of us over the past year and it will continue to be for the rest of our lives. As there are all those things that you just imagined Pabbi would be there to see, things like more grand-kids, weddings, graduations, Christmases and of course more volcano eruptions.
Yesterday Mum and I went to the Service of Thanksgiving which is an annual event “in recognition of organ and tissue donors and their families who make transplantation possible”. We went because we donated Pabbi’s eye tissue. It was a good event to go and it was nice to hear the stories of transplant recipients as well as stories of other donor families.
Below is who my father was. This is the slideshow that we played at the reception we had after the funeral.
This is very honest and moving Helen. Thinking of you and your family at this time xx
I´m still trying to get the fact that pabbi is not here anymore, I was so used to not seeing him for periods of years so I still sometimes have to remind me of the fact that he is gone.
Yesterday I went to Hamborgarabúllan (The Burger Joint), they were playing Johnny Cash and the song “We´ll meet again” (which we had in the ceremony here in Iceland last year) came on – brought back good memories of pabbi.
Thanks for this slide-show Helen, some old pictures there I don´t remember seeing and don´t have.
Love, HerdÃs Pála.
It was nice to go through this review of pabbi´s life. It certainly triggered some old memories and there were also quite a few pictures I had never seen before. Thank you Helen.
I’m sorry Helen. You must be still so sad, and then have to just get on with life. So many great photos of your Dad. I hope it gets easier for you. Carmel
Thanks,
Toti and Herdis – you should have a copy of these photos or access to them, I’m pretty sure I transferred them onto someone’s computer last year when we where there. I’ll put them on to a CD and put it in the next package I send over.
thanks Chan
MMMC – I wouldn’t say that I’m still so sad, it’s just that there are those times when you say “damm I really wish Pabbi was still around to help me with this or to tell me something”
H
What a wonderful slide show of your Dad’s life. So many good memories you have in those images. I also admire your family for donating his eye tissue. xxx
How hard to lose your Father so unexpectedly.
Wonderful that you donated his eye tissue.
Beautiful slideshow
I have only just got round to reading your blog again. I have not looked since Easter! I am glad yuo wrote about Pabbi. Love Mum